Yea, you read that right. What do Condos, Yams and have in common? Well typically noting unless your Condo has been damaged by water, fire etc. that started in your neighbors Condo and your Yams that you paid for were lost in a traffic accident caused by another driver. These are actually the same claim.. believe it or not.

I never want to use my policy you say?

Let's talk about the Condo situation first, and let's say there is damage to your condo that came from the condo above you. For our exercise let's say YOU own the second condo (Condo 2)... the one affected. Again, the Condo damage originated in another unit (Condo 1), so it makes sense to think that the insurance company of Condo 1 would pay to cover your damage at Condo 2 as well as the damage to your home as Condo 1 - right? Maybe and maybe not. Those that own insurance policies are to make claim against THEIR OWN insurance first (Condo 2), and then your insurance company would "subrogate" against the insurance company your neighbor has (Condo 1). Subrogate means that your insurance company would go after the insurance company for Condo 1 to cover what they paid you for your damages, and you don't have to worry about the process.

But wait, that is not all there is to the story

The Condo Association also holds a policy, and they often are surprised to find out that they are almost always (in Georgia) liable for some portion of the claim depending upon if there have been any upgrades to the Condo (Flooring, Cabinets Wall coverings etc) from the original construction of the Condo. The catch is that the Condo Association always has a VERY high deductible. No problem though - No matter if you own Condo 1 or Condo 2 ... your policy plus the subrogation of all owner policies AND the Condo Association participation - IF YOU HAVE THE CORRECT POLICY LIMITS ... Your property will be repaired and the only cost you will incur is your deductible. As Public Adjusters, we always suggest you have a $500.00 deductible. Always.

Yams and Third Party Policies

So what do yams have to do with all of this? Well we had an interesting call with a nice lady that was shipping a truck load of yams to a client and the truck was totaled in an accident - and apparently so were the yams. The lady explained the entire story and said she wanted to hire a Public Adjuster because the insurance company covering the truck only offered her $10,000 and the yams were worth $18,000. The problem is that she refused to file a claim with HER insurance company and let them subrogate against the trucker's insurance company. She didn't understand that a Public Adjuster cannot represent her unless she files a claim against her insurance and also that unless she does, the trucker's insurance company can simply refuse to pay her another dime and there is nothing she can do about it!

You pay for insurance to cover YOU when you experience a loss... and you have to make a claim against YOUR insurance or you will possible never be made whole. That is exactly why you have insurance, and you can't be afraid to use it!!

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